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Friday, 21 March 2014

I went to a thatched cottage in Berkshire last
weekend with writing friends. The cottage, in a village was reached by
single-track lanes and the Sat Nav of course didn’t take me to the right
address so I spent twenty minutes driving up and down the village, until a kind
lady walking her dog gave me directions.

This cottage was so remote that when I woke at three
o’clock on Saturday morning, an owl hooted outside my window. When I sat
down to write at a desk with the above view, a woodpecker was
hanging off the birdfeeder. The four of us were immersed in a kind of Disney
writer’s paradise. Between us, we brought several bottles of wine and we
crammed the fridge with enough food to last us a week. At lunchtimes, we ate cold meats and
salads outside (thanks to Jules for bringing all that wonderful stuff!) with fresh
bread as if we were in Tuscany or the South of France. In the
evenings, we met at the distressed wooden table in a kitchen lit by
fairy lights and candles.

Some of us wrote more than others. I’m at a stage
with book 2, 'The Painting' where I need to plan and handwrite scenes with pen and paper. By
Sunday evening, I couldn’t claim to have written several thousand words (like
Jules, who wrote 6000!), but I came home ready to dive right into my manuscript
and pick up where I left off in September, before rewriting book 1. I don’t
seem to have done that quite yet…, having spent the week doing other stuff and
being on Twitter far more than I should be.

I read an interesting book recently called, ‘Daily
Rituals’, by Mason Currey. Mason has gathered information on how various writers,
artists, philosophers and composers worked (or work). This is a book to keep on
the shelf and dip into, especially when stuck as there are loads of ideas on
how to get into a daily routine, however busy you are. Some ideas I wouldn’t
advocate, such as consuming copious quantities of alcohol, chain-smoking and taking
loads of drugs, but it’s the sort of book which you take what you want from. Many
writers mentioned wrote (or write) for a minimum of three or four hours each
day, took (or take) walks in beautiful countryside and read a great deal. Some
had no routine at all and only wrote when compelled to. Charles
Dickens‘rose at
7:00, had breakfast at 8:00, and was in his study by 9:00. He stayed there
until 2:00, taking a brief break for lunch with his family, during which he
often seemed to be in a trance, eating mechanically and barely speaking a word
before hurrying back to his desk.’

When asked if he had a daily routine, Kingsley Amis said, ‘Yes. I don’t get up very early. I linger
over breakfast reading the papers, telling myself hypocritically that I’ve got
to keep up with what’s going on, but really staving off the dreadful time when
I have to go to the typewriter. That’s probably about ten-thirty, still in
pajamas and dressing gown…’

Jane
Austen‘rose early,
before the other women were up, and played the piano. At 9:00 she organized the
family breakfast, her one major piece of household work. Then she settled down
to write in the sitting room, often with her mother and sister sewing quietly
nearby. If visitors showed up she would hide her papers and join in the sewing.’

This book has inspired me to write in three hour
minimum blocks where possible, as I found an hour here and there wasn’t getting
me very far. A scenic walk does help with mulling over bits I’m stuck on. But
getting away from it all, especially with other writers always seems to work
wonders.

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

I’ve been working at Polesden
Lacey, a National Trust property as a website volunteer since November last year and I recently completed the
new history pages for Polesden Lacey’s websiteEdwardian hostess,
Margaret Greville bought Polesden Lacey in 1906 and she left the estate to the
National Trust in 1942. Her guests included Edward VII and George VI. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother spent part of her honeymoon there when she was the Duchess of York. The history pages include articles about Mrs Greville,
a timeline (from 1906-1960) and below stairs staff. There are some wonderful photos of butlers,
housemaids, gardeners, chauffeurs etc

This weekend, I’m off
to a thatched cottage in the countryside with friends for writing with wine
thrown in! Last week I completed my latest draft of book 1, The Grandson and I hope to make progress with book 2, The Painting so I
can submit as many words as possible to the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme by the
end of August. I went to the
Georgians Revealed exhibition at the British Library in London last week (which
finished on 11 March). The exhibition gave a taste
of life during Georgian times with maps, posters, books and information on
architecture, interior design, theatres and sports amongst other things. Although
I found the exhibition interesting, I didn’t learn as much as I’d hoped. However, this should mean I’ve done enough research to get on with
book 2, The Painting, and I can refer to information collected when stuck. The British Library is
such an inspiring place, quiet apart from hushed conversations, where
student-types mill about with notebooks and pens and laptops and iPads. There’s
a great restaurant which serves miniature chicken pies and all sorts of
delicious stuff and I’ll be back soon to write there.Daffodils and snowdrops have sprung up here in the U.K. and the weather has been lovely over the past week. Hopefully that's it for winter this year and that the potholes in the roads will be filled in soon!

About Me

Writer and Freelance Social Media Manager with clients in the world of books. Used to work in the City, as manager to a structured derivatives documentation team. Studied French and Italian at university and lived in Siena, Italy. Writer of historical fiction set in 18thc Venice and English country houses. Short story, The Reminiscence Tea highly commended in Feb 2017 issue of Writers' Forum magazine. Associate Member of the Romantic Novelists' Association. Former Social Media Manager for the Historical Novel Society (Aug 2014- 4 Sept 2016) and Publicity Officer for #HNSOxford16. Find out more via my website: www.neetsmarketing.com